“A Better, Safer World: Stopping the Spread of Nukes and Other Deadly Weapons” will include a screening of the docudrama “Last Best Chance” and a town hall meeting featuring national security expert Matthew Martin.

The docudrama discusses the threat posed by of vulnerable nuclear weapons and materials around the world. Starring Fred Dalton Thompson from TV’s “Law and Order” series and a former U.S. senator (R-TN) and narrated by Tom Brokaw, the film documents what happens when al Qaeda operatives make crude nuclear weapons. The 45-minute-long film will be followed by a discussion.

The town hall portion of the program will feature opening remarks by Martin, a program officer for policy analysis and dialogue at the Stanley Foundation, who has worked directly on nonproliferation, cooperative threat reduction, missile defense, and strategic security issues. Martin spent 10 years in Washington, D.C., directing projects in the think tank world and serving as senior defense aide for former Sen. Bob Kerrey. He has held positions with the British American Security Information Council, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the Henry L. Stimson Center, and Amnesty International, USA. He has authored and edited briefs, reports and articles on a range of topics and has been a regular source for background, commentary and interviews for national and international media.

The town hall is part of a broader series, “The People Speak,” which is building discussions in the U.S. on a wide range of issues, including peace, security and human rights; energy and global climate change; and the millennium development goals. For more information, visit www.thepeoplespeak.org.

The event is supported by a grant from the Ploughshares Fund and is being hosted by the Wofford student organization AWARE in conjunction with the college’s Campus Ministries and Service Learning programs. The event is supported by Americans for Informed Democracy (AID). AID is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that seeks to shape a new generation of global leaders. AID coordinates town hall meetings on America’s role in the world, hosts international videoconference dialogues, and other activities designed to get Americans talking about our role in the world.

Wofford College, established in 1854, is an independent liberal arts college of 1,200 students in Spartanburg, S.C. (average SAT for incoming class, 1244). Wofford is in the top 30 percent of U.S. News & World Report’s national ranking of 217 liberal arts colleges and ranks second nationally in the percentage of undergraduates receiving credit for study abroad. Home to one of the nation’s 270 Phi Beta Kappa chapters, Wofford’s historic 150-acre campus is recognized as a national arboretum. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the college is committed to quintessential undergraduate education within the context of values-based inquiry.